He was warm, and the light through his eyelids was soft, and his pillow was a very odd shape… oh. That was right. Kazuki had made him sleep.

He rubbed his eyes and looked up, sleepily, and yes, his brother was looking down at him with a gentle smile and there were fingers stroking his hair back from his face. “Aniue.”

“Feel better now?” His brother leaned down to drop a kiss on his forehead.

Perhaps because he was still half asleep, impulse became action without thought and Yohan lifted his face so that the kiss met his mouth instead. Kazuki made a startled sound even as his hand cupped the back of Yohan’s head to steady him. “Yohan?” he murmured, drawing back.

Thought woke again, urging caution, but desire had woken also with that soft brush of lips, the same desire he’d fled rather than admit after their battle. But Kazuki was here now, in any case, and Yohan wanted so much. He leaned up on one hand, laying the other on his brother’s chest entreatingly. “Aniue… please?”

After a long moment Kazuki’s hand rose to curve around his jaw, lifting his chin, and Yohan couldn’t help the way his breath cut short in a rush of want. Slowly, watching him, his brother leaned down again to kiss him, gentle and easy, and Yohan leaned into the kiss, lips parting under Kazuki’s. The invitation was taken and Yohan made a soft sound, half hope and half pleading, as his brother’s kiss deepened.

He wanted this so much.

Kazuki reached out to gather him closer until Yohan was half lying against his chest, haori sliding down his shoulders. And pliant. Utterly pliant in his brother’s arms. When Kazuki’s hand urged his chin up further, Yohan let his head fall back, and when his brother’s lips traced down his bared throat he gasped, a shiver running down his body.

“Yohan,” Kazuki murmured, lips brushing his throat, “did you want me to take the clan back from you?”

It was the question and the desire he’d run from at the time, and it shook him now. “I don’t…” he whispered, voice taut with the arch of his neck. “There are so many things I want to do. To change. But…” His brother kissed his throat again and he gasped, shaking. “For now… just for now, please. Please, Aniue.”

He had been conquered, in that battle. Beyond technique and skill was the heart, and when the heart could no longer drive all skill failed. Kazuki had conquered his heart, and given no quarter. And in his brother’s conquest, he had tasted the sweetness of being guided and commanded by his brother’s will and love. The sweetness of belonging and shelter and rest.

“Please,” he begged, hands sliding up to cling to Kazuki’s shoulders. “Just for now…”

His brother’s fingers slid into his hair, cradling his head, and Kazuki kissed him, deep and intent. “Yes,” he said quietly. “For now, then.”

Yohan relaxed into the kiss with a sigh, surrendering to his brother’s care and guidance, and kissed back soft and open. Kazuki’s hands stroked down his arms, over his back, drawing him close and holding him, and Yohan moved with them willingly.

“Do you want more than this?” Kazuki murmured against his mouth, and Yohan flushed hot at the thought.

“Yes,” he breathed, and Kazuki smiled.

“We’ll need some place with a bed, then,” he said, low, holding Yohan against him. “Because I’m not going to lay you down on the bare tatami. And,” he added, “we need something to make it easier for you.”

Yohan made a breathless sound, shivering, and his brother laughed softly.

“Come, then.” He straightened Yohan’s clothes with gentle hands and pulled him to his feet. “Show me.”

Yohan led the way through the house to his bedroom, still flushed with the way Kazuki kept a hold of his hand, fingers twined through his. Once the door was closed behind them, Kazuki caught him close again, kissing him deep and slow, loosening his robes to slide them down his shoulders. He shivered at that, at the long, knowing fingers that traced over his bare shoulders and chest. “Aniue…” He couldn’t quite meet his brother’s eyes.

“So shy.” Kazuki took his chin and tipped it up again, holding his eyes. “There’s no need.”

The command in that simple gesture set Yohan trembling, and he swayed against his brother. “Yes, Aniue,” he whispered.

Kazuki kept him occupied with kisses as he pulled loose belts and ties until Yohan stood with all his robes in a heap around his feet. “Now, then.” He pushed Yohan gently down to the bed and stepped back, shedding his own clothes swift and graceful. The line of his body, as he returned to kneel over Yohan and press him down, made Yohan’s mouth dry; he knew his own strength was second to none, but the sheer grace of Kazuki’s movement stopped his breath. His brother’s hands stroked down his body, slow, and he shivered with the intensity of simply feeling that on his skin. Kazuki gathered him close, one hand supporting the curve of his back as he arched up helplessly into the sleek heat of Kazuki’s body against his.

"Shh," Kazuki murmured to him. "Now you need to trust me, and relax for me, little brother." One hand kneaded the small of Yohan’s back, easing the building tension in him, and Yohan obeyed with a shaky breath. He lay pliant against Kazuki’s chest as his brother searched through his bedside nook, and turned his face into Kazuki’s shoulder. He gasped at the first touch of warm, slick fingers, and Kazuki held him closer.

Those fingers circled his entrance, slow and gentle, until his breathing evened and his body relaxed, and it was his brother’s patience and care that made his face heat as much as the first slide of fingers inside him. "Aniue…"

"All right?" Kazuki asked softly, cradling him close. Yohan nodded, not looking up, and his brother chuckled. "All right, then." Still soft, but more commanding he added, "Look at me."

Yohan looked up, breathless, and moaned as his brother caught his mouth, kissing him hot and deep and intent. The answering heat in his body turned sharp as Kazuki’s fingers pressed in again and he gasped, trembling in his brother’s arms with the unexpected surge of pleasure.

Kazuki kissed Yohan again and again as his fingers moved in and out of him. The sensation of being touched inside made Yohan flush, and Kazuki worked him slowly until Yohan was moving with him, until they were twined tight together, and Yohan was kissing back and making wanton, pleading sounds low in his throat. He didn’t have to control himself; he knew his brother would judge their pace, would know when he was ready. All he had to do was surrender to Kazuki’s hands, and that was such an unspeakable relief that he was dizzy with it.

"Now," Kazuki murmured, finally. Yohan made a faint, protesting sound as Kazuki slid around behind him, but subsided, soothed, when his brother’s arm wound around him and drew him back snugly into the curve of Kazuki’s body. "It’s all right," Kazuki said softly in his ear as he guided Yohan’s leg up and forward, spreading him a little open. "I have you."

"Yes," Yohan agreed, low, and shivered at the feeling of Kazuki’s lips curving against his nape. And then Kazuki was pushing into him, and he was gasping, clutching the sheets as he was stretched, pushed open, filled. It was shocking. It was incredible. "Aniue!"

"Shh." Kazuki rocked just a little, in and out of him, holding him tight, and Yohan shuddered with the sensation. "All you have to do is follow. I’ll take care of everything." One hand stroked down Yohan’s stomach to close between his legs.

Yohan moaned with breathless submission to Kazuki’s word, and let his brother’s hands guide his body until he was spread out half on his stomach, gasping with each driving thrust, rocking into his brother’s strong hand. Kazuki took him slow and sure, until his nerves were singing like strings under a master’s touch. Pleasure wanted to speed ahead, but Kazuki’s touch held him back, let the heat build slowly, until Yohan was panting under it with an edge of desperation.

Yohan cried out as pleasure broke through him, a storm of heat striking again and again as his brother gasped against his shoulder and drove into him harder, faster. It was good, so good, to be held so tight, to feel Kazuki’s body over his, and he lay, panting, until Kazuki shuddered and stilled.

After a long moment, Kazuki kissed the back of his neck and eased them apart, turning Yohan gently and gathering him back into his arms. Kazuki stroked his hair and cradled him close. "It’s all right."

Yohan realized that his eyes were wet.

Kazuki kissed the tears away and rocked him slowly. "You are my beloved brother and I will always be here, to guide and support you in whatever way you need," he murmured.

Yohan’s breath hitched again and he nodded against Kazuki’s shoulder. It was a while before he could stop crying, though. Kazuki held him through it all and dried his face on a corner of the sheet. "Better?" he asked with a soft smile.

Yohan nodded; he did feel better, wrung out but at peace. "Thank you, Aniue," he said, husky.

Kazuki pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "Hush."

Yohan smiled shyly and did as he was told, and lay quiet and content in his brother’s arms as the evening drew in.